Global shares rise amid subdued May Day holiday trading, as US futures
gain
[May 01, 2025] By
YURI KAGEYAMA
TOKYO (AP) — Global shares rose Thursday in limited trading, with many
markets closed for May Day, or international Labor Day holidays.
Britain's FTSE 100 inched up less than 0.1% in early trading to
8,496.53. The future for the S&P 500 jumped 1.5%, while that for the Dow
Jones Industrial Average gained 0.7%.
Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1.1% to finish at 36,452.30. As
expected, the Bank of Japan decided to keep its benchmark interest rate
unchanged as worries mount over the impact of Trump’s policies. The
central bank also cut its economic growth forecast for the fiscal year
ending March 2026 by more than half, to 0.5% from 1.1% three months ago.
“Considering the significant downgrading of growth and inflation
forecasts in its Quarterly Outlook Report, the central bank will likely
take a long pause to assess the impact of high global trade policy
uncertainty on growth and inflation,” Shigeto Nagai of Oxford Economics
said in a report.
The U.S. dollar rose to 144.19 Japanese yen from 143.06 yen. The euro
cost $1.1329, inching down from $1.1331.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.2% to 8,145.60.
Uncertainty about what President Donald Trump’s trade war will do to the
U.S. economy remains a key focus for investors.
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 On Wednesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.2%
while the Dow gained 0.4%. The Nasdaq composite index edged 0.1%
lower.
The U.S. has been hit with the threat of a worst-case scenario
called “stagflation,” one where the economy stagnates yet inflation
remains high. Economists fear it because the Federal Reserve has no
good tools to fix both problems at the same time. If the Fed were to
try to help one problem by adjusting interest rates, it would likely
make the other worse.
A more comprehensive report on the job market from the U.S.
government will arrive on Friday. Worries are simmering that Trump’s
trade war may drag the U.S. economy into a recession. The
president’s on-again-off-again rollout of tariffs has created deep
uncertainty about what’s to come.
“I’m not taking a credit or discredit for the stock market,” Trump
said Wednesday. “I’m just saying we inherited a mess.”
Uncertainty around Trump’s tariffs has already triggered historic
swings for financial markets, from stocks to bonds to the value of
the U.S. dollar, that battered investors.
In energy trading, U.S. benchmark crude shed $1.07 to $57.14 a
barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gave up $1.00 to
$60.06 a barrel.
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